Member Story:
“Alternative Treatments Provide New Outlook on Cerebral Palsy”

Living for 26 years with cerebral palsy has challenged and frustrated both me and my family. With no standard treatment for this condition, my family has tried desperately to find new clinical trials and alternative treatments to help me through my struggle.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart because the information you gathered could allow me to take some great leaps forward on my journey to walk (and live) independently without crutches.

Recently, my mother reached out to PinnacleCare for more information. PinnacleCare had attended a conference and met Dr. Hermano Igo Krebs from MIT, a leading research scientist whose focus is cerebral palsy.

Upon learning about my case, the PinnacleCare Connection team reached out to Dr. Krebs and passed along my health summary and asked if he would be willing to work with me. Dr. Krebs invited me to join his clinical trial in New York. Since I live in Boston and would be unable to travel so frequently to New York City, Dr. Krebs said he would be more than willing to work directly with me in Boston.

Within a week of first meeting Dr. Krebs, I attended an appointment with the doctor. My family is thrilled to have made this connection and is looking forward to helping investigate robotic therapy and virtual reality, which are used in Dr. Krebs’s cutting-edge research.

After 26 years of not having a standard treatment plan, any new leading work is a beacon of hope for us. I thank you from the bottom of my heart because the information you gathered could allow me to take some great leaps forward on my journey to walk (and live) independently without crutches. Thank you!

The firm is now allowing its entire adviser force to refer clients to PinnacleCare, which also created a new elder-care assessment… Many advisers feel that dealing with elder-care issues isn’t their responsibility. But as clients age, “you’re going to be doing this whether you want to or not.”

In a time of serious illness, these advocates can help research new treatments that doctors may not know a lot about, cut through the medical bureaucracy, and perhaps help frame medical decisions more objectively than stressed out patients and their family members. Advocates are not just there to help you heal but also to keep you healthy.

— Anne Tergesen, “Your Guide to the Medical Maze”

Consider hiring a private patient advocate… It could help get you the care you need.

— Judy Foreman, “For when a doctor and a nurse just aren’t enough”

“Pinnacle provided me with a name and with research that said, ‘here’s how other people are going it, and here’s who has the most long-term survivors, and here are their stories.’ What I got from that was hope. Not a bad return on investment.”

— Gregory Taggart, “Deluxe Health Care”

“I always thought the medical staff would return phone calls, answer questions and discuss treatment plans and options. I was wrong.” So the family turned to…PinnacleCare for help. Within one day, a doctor on the company’s staff reviewed her mother’s medical records and set up a conference call with a neurosurgeon from Johns Hopkins and a neurologist from Rush University Medical Center, who agreed to take on the case. “We needed someone on our side.”